President-Minister of the TBRE
The President-Minister of the TBRE is the head of government of the Teddy Bear Republic Empire. Origin and history Following the Second World War, it was recognised that a key reason for the TBRE’s ill-advised involvement was due to the broad and extensive powers of the Royal President. As both head of state and government, these powers enabled them to both advocate for and enable war, and pass extraordinary war measures without oversight. As such, a new Constitution was developed in 1948, separating the two roles, among other changes. The new position of the Elder-General served as head of state, while the President-Minister became head of government. However, the process by which the President-Minister took office through direct elections remained the same, and thus the TBRE stayed a presidential republic, although the current powers of oversight that the legislature holds over the President-Minister has called some to question this label. The role of the President-Minister was originally envisioned to be a technocratic role, similar to its predecessor, which was to be filled by professionals or civil servants. However, with the increasing political nature of the legislature, the role of the President-Minister has also simultaneously become more and more politicised, with recent President-Ministers tending to be career politicians. However, candidates are still said to be “sponsored” by political parties, rather than necessarily their selected or nominated choice from among their ranks. Additionally, the perception that the President-Minister is primus inter pares in the cabinet has also gradually evolved, and has instead become a more dominant and directing figure among the other Ministers. The incument President-Minister since 2014 is Kelly Tobruina, sponsored by the Teddy National Liberal Party. The previous President-Minister was Mikhail Palchensky, of the same party, who held the position since April 2002 and served for 4 terms. Powers and duties As head of government, the President-Minister is nominally charged with advising the head of state, the Elder-General, in exercising their executive powers. In reality, the President-Minister is de facto the most powerful person in the TBRE, leading and directing the executive branch of government through their Office and the cabinet. They are responsible for forming executive and administrative policies and decisions, leading and titularly representing the TBRE in foreign affairs, initiating and enabling certain legislative measures, directing the armed forces, and making appointments of judicial, administrative and diplomatic officers in conjunction with the relevant advisory councils, among other duties. Selection method and removal To be qualified to run for the post of President-Minister, candidates must first get signatures and the support of at least 0.5% of the populace, currently recognised to be around 125,000 signatures. There is no requirement to be a member of any political party to run for office, and all citizens who are of the legal age to vote may stand for the post. Following their collection of signatures, the candidates’ names are then registered by the Electoral Board and placed onto the ballot on voting day. This generally occurs in January of the election year. Campaigns are generally short, and funding and advertising are regulated in accordance to strict Electoral Board guidelines. Three national debates, involving all of the candidates who are registered, take place throughout the course of the campaigns, however, independent media stations also invite selected leading candidates to debates and appearances. Voting stations open in April, and voting by all citizens of legal voting age takes place on election day. A transferable vote system is in use. If a candidate is for whatever reason unable to achieve at least two thirds of the vote, then the top two candidates (provided both have gotten at least 60% of the vote collectively) make it to the run-off elections. The winning candidate is announced and appointed by the Elder-General. The President-Minister serves 3 year terms. The President-Minister has no limits to the number of terms that they can serve, consecutively or otherwise. Ordinarily, the President-Minister leaves office only following the results of a nationwide election at the end of their term of office. However, including natural acts (such as illness or death), some exceptions to this rule do exist. Firstly, an extraordinary session of the combined legislature with at least a 80% quorum can decide to impeach the President-Minister on the grounds of incompetence, in which case new elections must be held. Secondly, if the President-Minister is convicted by a court for significant unlawful activity, they can then be automatically removed from office by the Elder-General unless an extraordinary session of the combined legislature decides otherwise. In all these cases, the head of the upper nonpartisan chamber becomes acting President-Minister until immediate elections are held. This applies in all cases where the President-Minister is suddenly removed from office. Compensation and privileges The most recent salary increase has set the President-Minister’s salary to slightly higher than that of the Elder-General. They earn an annual sum of T$1,500,000 (US$225,000), from which personal expenses (such as laundry or maintenance of personal hygiene, discounting significant medical costs) are deducted from. They do pay income tax on the remaining amount. They are also eligible, unless removed from office due to unlawful activity, for a President-Minister’s Pension, and certain other privileges, including being styled “the Honorable” for life. It is also traditional, but not mandated, for them to become an honorary member of the upper chamber. During the course of their term, the President-Minister officially resides at the One Toyland Road Government Den, better known as the Red House. They and their close family are entitled to the use of its staff, services and facilities. The President-Minister has additional, smaller residences in the provinces of Nordica and Grenatia; however, these are generally only used when the capital is threatened due to their more extensive network of hardened shelters. The President-Minister is also entitled to a number of means of transport; these include the Presidential State Car, an armored elongated sedan with a reinforced chassis, and one of three long range airplanes, most often TAI Tetra8s. These are operated by an ad hoc security agency called PASOC, which is composed of selected law enforcement and military personnel. PASOC is also responsible for the protection of the President-Minister during and after his terms of office, as well as his family and the events that he attends. Category:TBRE Category:Politics of the TBRE